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underdog than our female AFL players.
“These women in AFL are fabulous role
models, not only because they’re strong
and powerful but also it’s that thing
about perseverance – sticking with a
sport that didn’t make it easy for them
to thrive in,” says Pippos.
She singles out players such
as Collingwood’s Moana Hope,
Carlton’s Darcy Vescio and Adelaide
Crows’ Ebony Marinoff as icons in
the making. Pippos hopes the rising
focus on female players will address
the problem of “you can’t be what
you can’t see” and inspire a younger
generation of female players to reach
their sporting potential.
While filled with optimism about
the future of AFLW, Pippos concedes
we need a more diverse media to raise
the overall profile of women’s sport.
At the start of her career,
she says it was difficult to
“rock the boat” and call
out instances of women
being overlooked. Her
advice to aspiring sports
reporters is this: “Don’t be
put off by the fact that it’s
still an overtly masculine
industry. We need more
women getting involved
in sports journalism
because then we’ll start
to see a shift in the attitudes of
those who make the decisions at
the top of media organisations.”
She tells of visiting AFL House
recently and noticing how
many more women were
there compared to when
she started.
“These days, it’s a
friendlier environment to
call out sexism – so don’t
hesitate.”
by Emily Laidlaw
(@emily_laidlaw)
» Breaking the Mould is
out now.
CARLTON’S ALISON DOWNIE AND
COLLINGWOOD’S EMMA KING CONTEST
THE RUCK. PHOTOGRAPH BY MICHAEL
WILLSON/AFL MEDIA